Explore 30A’s Underwater Museum of Art ~ Southern Vacation Rentals
If you’ve ever vacationed out on Scenic 30A, you’ll know there is no shortage of fun things to do on vacation. Each of the area’s beach communities are filled with eclectic shopping, incredible dining, and art galleries full of pieces just waiting to be discovered. You may have seen it all, but did you know about 30A’s Underwater Museum of Art? That’s right! It’s the nation’s first underwater museum, located less than a mile off of Grayton Beach’s shores and 60 feet below the surface. The underwater museum made its debut last summer with seven sculptures to explore, and 12 new ones joined them earlier this year. To visit the exhibit, you must be a certified diver and comfortable out in open water. Our friends at Emerald Coast’s Scuba host a PADI Open Water Diver Course where you can get dive certified – you’ll be diving like a pro in no time!
About the Exhibit
30A’s Underwater Museum of Art was created as a partnership between the Cultural Art Alliance’s (CAA) Art in Public Spaces Program and the South Walton Artificial Reef Association (SWARA). SWARA’s mission is to create marine habitat and expand fishery populations while providing enhanced creative, cultural, economic and educational opportunities for the benefit, education and enjoyment of residents, students and visitors in South Walton. Another fantastic aspect of the museum is that it brings art and conservation together to build marine life sanctuaries right off the coast. The sculptures are all completely sustainable and suitable for marine life, with a goal of helping them flourish. Art lovers and divers from all over flock to Grayton Beach just to see the underwater garden. There truly isn’t anything like this anywhere else!
This year’s 12 new sculptures include El Plastico designed by George Sabra. The large sculpture is a 2-liter soda bottle made of environmentally cast concrete, representing how something that harms marine life can actually help it flourish. We all know that plastic is incredibly harmful to marine life, but since Sabra’s sculpture is hollow and made from environmentally friendly material, it will serve as a home for fish. Sabra is known as an environmental artist, creating sculptures out of reclaimed and environmentally friendly material.
Other sculptures at the museum include Buttery by Alys Beach Construction, To Replenish With Water by Beatriz Chachamovits, Saguaro by Ghazal Ghazo, Aspiration by Shohini Ghosh, Flamingle by Rachel Herring, Wave! by Benjamin Mefford, I Found It! by Ingram Ober and Marisol Rendon, Love Thyself by Maxine Orange, Let’s Not Blow This by Kevin Reilly, and X.Muta by Vince Tatum. Visit the Underwater Museum of Art’s website to learn more about this unique approach to eco-tourism!
Where to Stay
Of course, when you make plans to visit the museum, you’ll want to make sure you say close by in Grayton Beach! How about one of our 30A vacation rentals at Bernard’s Grayton Place? This home is located in the Preserves of Grayton Beach neighborhood, a popular gated community just minutes away from the beach. This four-bedroom home sleeps 10 guests and comes with everything you’ll need for a fun time at the beach. Plus, you’ll have tons of fun swimming around in the community pool or working on your serve at the neighborhood’s tennis courts. Grayton Beach is known for its lively, bustling art scene. It’s also home to artists, musicians, chefs, and all-around beach lovers, so it’s no surprise that 30A’s Underwater Museum of Art would be right at home in Grayton Beach!
